September Newsletter

Battle of the Books

We are ready to start working on Battle of the Books with students. All students are invited and encouraged to participate in Battle of the Books. There will be practice once a week at each school starting on October 18. For all students coming to Battle of the Books practice transportation arrangements will need to be made.

Tuesday 3:15 – 4:00 Central

Thursday 3:15 – 4:00 Southside

Upcoming Events

Oct. 7, 2011 District In-service, NO SCHOOL

Oct. 10, 2011 COLUMBUS DAY HOLIDAY, NO SCHOOL
Oct. 21, 2011 Parent Teacher Conferences,
No school for students
Oct. 31, 2011 Read-a-Thon

Family Book Night

October 3 was our second Family Book Night for this school year. We had an amazing turnout again with standing room only in the Central library. We read the book Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin.

Family Book Night for the November book will be on November 7 in the Southside Library. Please join us as we read another terrific book together and engage in a fun activity with parents and students.

FAMILY BOOK NIGHTS

August 29 Southside

October 3 Central
November 7 Southside
January 9 Central
February 6 Southside
March 5 Central
April 2 Southside
May 7 Central

Reader of the Week

Southside and Central Elementary Schools are continuing to track the number of words each student is reading and combining their words to create the schools’ totals. At both schools we already have some students who have read at least 100,000 words. At this point in time we have one student who has read 1,000,000 words! KEEP READING!

CENTRAL

5^th 3,263,346
6^th 3,800,797
School total so far: 7,083,927

SOUTHSIDE

3^rd 3,482,057
4^th 3,430,044
School total so far: 6,865,480

Book Fair at Southside Library

It is once again time for the Book Fair at Southside. Mrs. Salinas will set up the displays of books in the library for you to browse for books for your children. Students can purchase books at any time during the week of the fair while in school. Parents we encourage you to come by and browse with your child, and buy!

The Book Fair runs for a week from October 17 through October 26. Mrs. Salinas will be hosting a Book Fair Night on October 18^th from 5 – 8pm when the library will be open to the public to view the books. Please come by and see the many wonderful texts that are available for our students.

Bullying Issues

The following are more tips on bullying. Please take a moment to read through them and discuss them with your child.

5. Encourage your child to seek help and to report bullying incidents to someone s/he feels safe with at the school:

• Adult in charge of a specific activity or area (such as the playground, lunchroom, field trips, bus lines, gym, classroom)
• Teacher
• Counselor
• Principal

6. Use school personnel and other parents as resources in finding positive ways to encourage respectful behaviors at school.

• Volunteer time to help supervise on field trips, on the playground, or in the lunchroom.
• Become an advocate for school-wide bullying prevention programs and policies.

7. Encourage your child to continue to talk with you about all bullying incidents.

• Do not ignore your child's report.
• Do not advise your child to physically fight back. (Bullying lasts longer and becomes more severe when children fight back. Physical injuries often result.)
• Do not confront the child who bullies.
• Do not confront the family of the child who bullies.

Taken from: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Do_About/

Film Industry Careers

Producers and Directors

A producer can do many different things: write, invest, come up with ideas, and manage things. The executive producer is responsible for every part of the movie from beginning to end. Directors are the boss of a film. They make the movie the way they want it to be and so they have a say in who is hired to work on a movie. They decide on everything involved with how the movie will look and sound. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lumps producers and directors together, so the average annual salary of film directors in 2006 was $92,920.

Screenwriters

Screenwriters write the movie. They decide what the actors say and do, where it takes place and what happens in the movie. Sometimes they work on the script by themselves or they work with other screenwriters. BLS statistics for 2006 put the average salary of a film screenwriter at $95,250, higher than both directors and producers.

Film and Video Editors

Editors make the film. Most people don’t know who they are or what they do, but without them there would be no movies. They take the many hours of filming and cut out most of it to leave just the best for us to watch on the screen. They work very closely with the director to make sure the finished product is exactly what the director wanted.

According to BLS, the average annual salary for a film editor is $68,980.

BLS statistics taken from: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/highest-paying-jobs-film-industry2.htm

Central and SouthsideTimes

Battle of the Books

This year
the students will be able to participate in a state-wide competition that
celebrates the power and enjoyment of reading books. This competition requires
students to read at least 10 books from the selected list of books for the 2011-2012
school year. I expect every student to read several of the books on the list
during the coming months and I will outline more details about forming our
Central and Southside teams in later newsletters.

Upcoming Events

Sept. 2, 2011 District Inservice, NO SCHOOL
Sept. 5, 2011 LABOR DAY HOLIDAY, NO SCHOOL

Sept. 7, 2011 Picture Day SS, CES

Sept. 9, 2011 Report Cards go home

Sept. 23, 2011 EARLY RELEASE, SLI

Sept. 23, 2011 LHS Homecoming Game

Walking Clubs have been
started at both Central and Southside. We want to see how many miles we can walk each nine weeks. We will then change it into distance across the United States. Students can walk before school, at lunch time and are walking during PE. Pedometers are available for students to check out and use.

Reader of the Week

Both Southside and Central Elementary Schools have set a school
goal to read 10 million words this year. We are tracking the number of words
each student is reading and combining their words to create the schools’
totals. The students’ first goal is to read 100,000 words. Once students have
read 100,000 words, we will take their picture for the newspaper and place
their name on our Wall of Honor. Look for your child’s picture in the coming
weeks and support your child by insisting on reading at home.

Family Book Night

August 29 was our first Family Book Night for this school
year. We had an amazing turnout for our first celebration with reading books.
We read the book Charlie Cook’s Favorite Book by Julia Donaldson. Please stop by either
Southside or Central to read the responses to this book. They are posted
outside each library.

FAMILY
BOOK NIGHTS

August 29     Southside

October 3    Central

November 7    Southside

January 9    Central

February 6    Southside

March 5    Central

April 2    Southside

May 7    Central

Bullying Issues

We continue to have issues with bullying at both Southside and Central. Please take a moment to read the following tips on how you can help your child and the school combat this problem. Each month more tips will be given.

1. Encourage your child to report bullying incidents
to you.

• Validate your child's
  feelings by letting him/her know that it is normal to feel hurt, sad,
  scared, angry, etc.
  
• Let your child know that
  s/he has made the right choice by reporting the incident(s) to you and
  assure your child that s/he is not to blame.
  
• Help your child be specific
  in describing bullying incidents: who, what, where, when. (Look for
  patterns or evidence of repeated bullying behaviors.)

2. Ask your child how s/he has tried to stop the
bullying.

3. Coach your child in possible alternatives.

• Avoidance is often the best
  strategy.
  
• Play
  in a different place.
• Play
  a different game.
• Stay
  near a supervising adult when bullying is likely to occur.
  
• Look for ways to find new
  friends.
  
• Support
  your child by encouraging him/her to extend invitations for friends to
  play at your home or to attend activities.
• Involve
  your child in social activities outside of school.

4. Treat the school as your ally.

• Share your child's concerns
  and specific information about bullying incidents with appropriate school
  personnel.
• Work with school staff to
  protect your child from possible retaliation.
• Establish a plan with the
  school and your child for dealing with future bullying incidents.

Taken from: http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Do_About/

Criminal Justice Careers

Crime scene investigators are trained to examine the
evidence and elements that comprise the scene of a murder, robbery, rape, or
other crime. To become a crime scene investigator, you will need to be an
experienced police officer who receives specific professional training. If you
aren’t already a police officer, you will need to have at least a college
degree.

Average yearly salary = $58,750

As a forensic psychologist, you may work in
the court system as a jury consultant or as an expert witness testifying on the
mental state of a defendant when a crime was committed. You may provide
evidence regarding the competence of a person to stand trial. As a forensic
psychologist, you are combining psychology with law and may work with
correctional facilities, psychiatric hospitals, or community agencies in
performing risk assessment of future behavior of an individual. You may also
provide psychotherapy or agency referrals to alleviate psychiatric symptoms
that led to criminal behavior. In addition to an undergraduate degree in
psychology, you will need a Master’s Degree to qualify for a career position in
forensic psychology.

Average Salary = $59,440

The requirements for becoming a paralegal vary based on the
work environment you wish to work for. Some law firms may require you to have a
complete four-year degree in paralegal studies, while other offices may only
ask applicants to have earned an Associate’s degree or shorter professional
program from a business school or trade school. Paralegals may want to consider
taking the national certification exam for legal assistants, but it usually
isn’t needed.

Average Salary = $43,040